Tuesday, September 29, 2015

The Judges Who Stole School Choice

Eight new charter schools in Washington state opened this fall, but on Friday the state Supreme Court delivered a grim surprise by overturning the state's charter law. Welcome back to the public school monopoly, kids.

The 6-3 ruling is as politically driven as it is overreaching and legally flawed. In 2012 voters approved a ballot initiative sponsored by Bill Gates and others that authorized up to 40 charter schools over five years. The law requires that charters receive per-pupil funding equal to that of traditional public schools and that taxpayer dollars follow the student.

The education axis of unions and administrators struck back in a lawsuit claiming that charters violate constitutional limits on funding for "common schools" (public schools). They also claimed charters aren't accountable to local voters.

In fact, charters are far more accountable than traditional public schools.